


Settle the Score

by iheartloofas, juvenna_reverie



Series: Week Two of Quarantine [4]
Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Love Triangles, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Power Couple, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:20:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25177576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iheartloofas/pseuds/iheartloofas, https://archiveofourown.org/users/juvenna_reverie/pseuds/juvenna_reverie
Summary: Woarm and Hades run a smuggling ring together in a world where soulmates determine everything. Their love is illegal, and Luigi would do anything to see himself together with his soulmate Hades.
Relationships: Hades/Luigi, Hades/Woarm Oanastryngh, Jake (State Farm)/Luigi
Series: Week Two of Quarantine [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1788163
Kudos: 1





	Settle the Score

**Author's Note:**

> :)

The soulmate system had always been a scam. Woarm had seen far too many people thrown to the gutter to think otherwise. Everything, your social standing, your life partner, your economic situation, all determined by a few lines on your fingertips. Local superstitions used to claim that the more similar the lines on your hands were to your partners, the more compatible you would be. That myth had then morphed into the system as Woarm knew it today: used to separate the rich from the poor, the fortunate from the slums. On each child’s 16th birthday, they were forced to register with the system to determine their best matches. Those with high score matches were given countless opportunities, while those less fortunate were left to fend for themselves on the street.

The air simmers in the underground market as Woarm weaves through the crowd. Down here, it’s suffocating with the heat and tightly packed bodies, but to Woarm, it’s home. Hidden under the pristine city streets was a community of its own for everyone seeking an escape. Could be the system, maybe a past best forgotten, it didn’t matter. In the underground you became invisible, and that’s just how Woarm liked it. No one ever noticed her lithe fingers darting in and out of pockets as she passed, and for the few that did, a wink was enough to get away with it. The further into the market she goes though, the warmth begins to dissipate. Here there are no manholes to the surface, and only the dim glow of candle lit signs prevents from being lost. Despite her regular visits, she still flinches when she hears the screams from the hand exchange stall. As she passes today, a man emerges from the shadows, clutching the bloody stump at the end of his arm before staggering into the opposite direction. She averts her eyes and continues on her way.

He’s dressed in only the finest silk robe. Hand embroidered, naturally. He lounges upon taffeta sheets, lazily dangling a glass of red wine from his hand. The dogs sleep close by, but as soon as Woarm enters the room they spring to attention.

“Hades! Babe, it’s like sooo good to see you!” she beams as she shrugs off her coat before sitting down next to him. He sets his wine glass down before lifting her hand to his lips and pressing a kiss to it. He begins to kiss up her arm, and finally up to her lips, and Woarm can’t help but blush. It wasn’t like she was inexperienced with romance, but there was something so tender about him. Something had kept her coming back to him every time. Even if their hands didn’t match. Even if they could only meet in the shadows like this; Woarm knew her place was with Hades, and no authoritarian system would change that.

The minutes turn to hours, though time seems like little more than a distant dream in the darkness of the underground. Each encounter begins with the same tender caresses, and ends with so much more. Hades discreetly pays the bill for the room to the halfling sitting outside and follows Woarm back into the dark.

“Mama mia…” Luigi sighs as he emerges from the shadows, equipped with a laundry basket and cleaning spray. Tentatively, he pulls the soiled sheets from the bed and wipes down the corner desk. He tries to hum a tune to himself to cheer himself up, but the melody seems to escape him today. With the final spray of the bottle, Luigi can’t help it any more and falls to his knees, silent tears streaming down his face and into his mustache.

“That-a shoulda be a-me” he whispers endlessly to himself, clutching his hand. The hand which he knew almost perfectly matched Hades. He knew that Hades was his one true soulmate, the one man who could fix him. The love, the passion that filled him whenever he caught a glimpse of him in the market streets gave him a feeling like he had never felt before. He wanted to be the one in his arms, to be the one to experience what his mouth felt like all over his tiny body. To see Woarm in his rightful place killed him inside, but he could never seem to pull his eyes away, could never muster the courage to confront Hades. He had descended down to this hell hole just to follow his beloved, and yet could never find the right words to speak to him. So instead, he watched from a distance, cleaning up the messes he watched them make. It was disgusting and he knew it, but Luigi knew that that was all he was worth to the world.

On his 16th birthday, Luigi had gone to Statefarm Union Services to submit his palm print and find his match. When the agent had showed him the profile of his match, Luigi knew just by looking at him that Hades was the one for him. For the first time in years, Luigi had felt hope. After years of abuse by his older brother, finally, finally, there was someone out there who would love him unconditionally. But when he tried to find him, Hades had vanished.

It took years to track him down to the smuggling ring below the city. He first saw Hades guiding individuals onto a boat bound to illegally leave the city. He hadn’t realized how beautiful he would be in person. Or how tall. Luigi could only sit and watch him do his work, discreetly poking holes in a system that Luigi so earnestly believed in. Each day he would follow him to the dock, watch him do his work, then leave for the night. Despite the longing in his heart, Luigi was content.

That was before she showed up. Some skanky tiefling constantly hanging off of Hades arm, like she was worthy to touch him in the first place. Luigi hated the sight of her. Each day he saw the relationship between Woarm and Hades grow, and it made him sick. Each day he told himself he would finally reveal himself and show Hades who his real soulmate was. And yet, for the past two years, he ended his evenings sitting behind the same boxes he had started his day with. Each day, a little more of himself gave way and withered, until his only reason for living became to watch Hades. Hades would fix him. Hades would love him. He knew it.

It had been so long since Luigi had last felt daylight on his skin. He stumbled, near blinded, down the pristine streets to the Statefarm Union Services building. He reeked of filth and poverty as he walked, but the agent at the door still greeted him with a smile. Neatly pressed Khakis, a freshly ironed shirt, dress shoes and nicely kept hair, Jake greeted Luigi with the same calm demeanor he had all those years ago. It didn’t matter if Luigi left mud tracks on the carpet, or attracted disgusted looks from the other employees. All that mattered to Jake was seeing Luigi again, and doing everything he could to make him happy.

He knew it was against protocol. Every fiber in his body screamed at him that this was wrong. But Jake couldn’t help that he loved Luigi. His quiet but determined eyes captivated him eachtime he was able to catch a glimpse. But the Luigi who had staggered in after him had lost that fire, and it killed him. He knew he couldn’t tell Luigi how he felt; that would only bring pain to him, and a termination for Jake. So he resolved to do anything he could to help him regain some semblance of his former self.

Luigi sat across from Jake. The silence hung in the air between them, until Luigi began to shake. Jake sat powerless as the man he loved began to sob, recounting the story of a love lost and his ingrained hatred for himself. Luigi cried and cried, finally letting go of the regret and the sadness that he had been building for years. Eventually the tears stopped flowing. Eyes red and sore and head light, Luigi paused to look at Jake. He always wore that same plastic smile. There was an emptiness behind those eyes of his. Luigi put his head on the table, exhausted. Jake stood, smiled at him one last time, and left his cubicle.

A work day like any other. Woarm and Hades stand on the side of the dock, watching the latest boat of refugees leave across the underground river Styx. He wraps an arm around her, and she leans her head against his shoulder. They would have to stay, but the least they could do was give others a chance of a better life.

A work day like any other. Jake remains perfectly still atop his perch, hidden by the shadows. He loads his sniper rifle, and takes aim at the back of a woman's head.

“Like a good neighbour,” he removes the safety.

“Statefarm is there."


End file.
